


Heart of A Prince

by Bakufun1



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Coming of Age, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Sexuality, Slow Romance, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, but not overwhelmingly so, except they run from it together accidentally, just saying that i'm ignoring the embla curse, the boys explore gender and sexuality, trans alfonse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 23:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15959660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bakufun1/pseuds/Bakufun1
Summary: Alfonse is not a woman. On some level, he's always known that, but it takes until mere days before an unwanted marriage to the prince of Embla to realize it. It's then that he realizes he has two options: continue trying to be a woman to satisfy his father and live a life pretending to be someone else, or embrace himself and sneak away in the night.His choice to be true to his heart and leave sends him on a journey of self discovery, accompanied by the mysterious Zacharias, who seems to be hiding a few things as well. Together, Alfonse and Zacharias strive to learn about themselves, and if luck will have it, about each other.(Note: Alfonse will be using his deadname and pronouns until about chapters 3-4. For reading comfort, please keep this in mind c: )





	Heart of A Prince

Runa stood in front of the door to the office of her father, King Gustav, trying to steel herself for the stressful conversation about to take place. Being summoned to discuss her ‘behaviour’ was never a good sign. His temper could be unrelenting at times, and to be the target of it was the last thing she wanted. She took a deep breath, buried the anxiety building up, and knocked.

 

“Enter,” came the gruff response from behind the door.

 

She slipped in and shut the door behind her, then seated herself across from her father. Gustav was as imposing as ever, towering over her even while seated. The wrinkles around his brow and mouth only added to the stern look that he always seemed to wear when she was around. The desk had abandoned papers scattered around, although the rest of the office remained organized.

 

“Do you know why we are having this conversation, Runa?” her father started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk and fold his hands.

Runa maintained eye contact with him and took the seat across from him. “No, father. You did not establish the reason earlier.”

“The _reason_ is that you need to stop with your ‘boyish’ tendencies,” he said. “If you want your fiance to like you, you’ll start acting like a proper princess of Askr.”

“I know, father,” she said, and grimaced at Gustav’s blunt words. “But… I still haven’t met him yet, even though the wedding date you set is so soon.”

“I won’t let you frighten off yet another viable husband, especially after that ‘stunt’ you pulled last time.” 

 

A stunt that Runa was quite proud of, even now. The man insisted on commenting on her hair, on how she was ‘dainty’ and would be ‘lovely to show off'. It was demeaning, it reminded her that she was just a woman. Her retaliation came in the form of cutting off her hair and challenging him in horseback riding, a duel, hunting, then insulting him whenever she could to damage his ego. The day he left was a day of celebration for herself, and a day of political torture for Gustav.

 

“To be fair, father, he kept giving me strange looks and making lewd comments. And that’s ignoring the years he had on me.”

Gustav pinched the bridge of his nose. “And yet, instead of being diplomatic, you chose to disgrace our family.”

 I _chose_ to refuse to marry a perverted man twice my age!” Runa retorted, narrowing her eyes, and mumbled, “I swear to the gods, if this man is like that...”

Gustav slammed his fist on the desk, and Runa couldn’t help but flinch and look down at her lap. 

“Watch your tongue, Runa,” he snapped, then sighed, ”This one is close to your age, and a prince of Embla. I doubt you will find any ‘problems’.”

 _Or, I’ll find a whole other list of problems,_ she thought to herself, and said, “When will I be meeting this prince, then?”

“In a few days. I expect you will use that time to learn how to act with _dignity_ and _respect_.”

Runa gritted her teeth and held back any more remarks. “Of course, father. Is that all?”

“Yes, that is all. Return to your duties.”

 

Runa rose from the seat to escape the burning gaze of her father. The talk may have been short, but her anger at people insisting she be ‘ladylike’ always rose as quickly as the temper of an awakened dragon. She found herself further down the hall, glaring out a window as if the trees outside had personally insulted her.

 _Disgrace_ , he had called her.

 _Learn how to act with dignity,_ he said.

“I’m perfectly dignified!” Runa whispered harshly to herself. “I’m not respecting a man who thinks I’m little more than a _beautiful woman._ ”

 

Why did her father refuse to let her have a voice in all of this? She was the one being forced to marry,  yet she wasn’t allowed to meet her spouse! He was going to see her as little more than a delicate woman who needed to be taught how to act ‘properly,’ like Gustav did.

 

 _Deep breaths,_ she reminded herself, shoving her face into her hands, _Be rational._

This suitor was a prince. A Prince would have been raised to act in a dignified and proper way. Chances were that she wouldn’t hate him on sight, despite the mountain of other problems. Additionally, he was around her age, which erased another one.

 

_It could be worse._

 

Yet the thought of becoming a wife still sickened her. She knew she wasn’t the first person to have a marriage arranged for them in her family; they were royalty, and it was an important part of politics. But still, she couldn’t convince herself out of feeling that something was wrong. She understood and accepted that a political marriage would happen, but the act of being in the role of a wife…

Runa shook her head and sighed, pushing herself away from the window to continue down the hall. She didn’t have time to keep pondering this. Her frustration had cooled down to only a manageable shimmer, and that was good enough to continue her duties for the day.

 

She was scheduled to have her hair trimmed again, an activity she loathed having to sit through. The moment she opened the door to her room, a maid and the royal hairdresser whisked her inside and sat her down in front of the vanity mirror. The maid removed her tiara, while the hairdresser began brushing through her long locks of blue hair.

Runa sat in silence, doing her best to tolerate having to stare at herself in the mirror, and to ignore the gentle tugging when he reached a knot. There was little to focus on besides her appearance, but the hairdresser would chide her for even tilting her head to look anywhere else. The only thing she had to stare at was her bed reflected in the glass.

 

_My hair is too long. Why does my face have to be so soft? It’s so… feminine._

 

“Your Highness, please do not scowl,” the hairdresser said, pausing his work for a moment, “I know you find this unpleasant, but upkeep is necessary.”

“My apologies. I hadn’t meant to scowl,” Runa said, then sighed and set her face to a blank expression.

 The hairdresser set to work trimming her hair, catching the strands in a basket and muttering to himself. Runa stayed quiet, thinking to herself, then spoke up again.

 “Perhaps you could cut my hair short? It would keep it out of the way and make it easier to maintain.”

 He continued trimming her hair. “I’m afraid I cannot do that. His Majesty made it very clear to me that something like that would be against his wishes, and I have no desire to anger him.”

 Runa tried not to deflate too much. “Oh, I see.” Of course Gustav would have taken measures to stop her from trying to repeat what she did with her last fiance.

 “Besides, it would be a shame to cut it off. It’s long and beautiful; just fantastic to work with!”

 She forced herself to smile, despite the sudden jab of discomfort in her chest. “I’m sure you’ve tried just about every hairstyle possible on me.”

 “There’s always more for me to try, your highness, believe me. In fact, I have a perfect one planned out for your wedding!”  
“That’s… great. I can’t wait,” Runa said dryly.

 “Don’t sound too excited, it’s only your wedding.”

 

A wedding she didn’t want. A wedding that would trap her with someone she didn’t know, one made in her fathers vain hope that she would finally ‘act like a lady'.

 

“Princess Runa, you’re scowling again.”

“Are we done here yet?” she snapped.

His reflection in the mirror blinked in surprise. “Ah- just about, give me one more moment…” He went quiet to focus on her hair.

 As promised, he finished and stepped back a minute later, allowing her to turn and face him.

“Thank you,” Runa said, “You are dismissed whenever you’re ready.’

 “Of course, your highness,” the hairdresser said, then left after collecting his supplies. The maid stayed behind to tidy up the room, much to Runa's dismay.

 

Runa waited for the maid to be done, distracting herself with going on the balcony outside and staring at the orange tinted sky. She ignored the passage of time until the sound of the door closing reached her ears. A sigh escaped her lips and she shoved her face in her hands.

Why did she have to hate all this? Why did she hate to be complimented for her hair, or her dress, or any other manner of things like that, when any other woman would be happy about it?

A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to the door to see her sister, Sharena poking her head in.

 

It looked like she wouldn’t be left alone tonight.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Oof, I haven't written anything for a while, let alone planned a chapter fic. anyways, here it is??? the trans alfonse not-arranged marriage fic no one asked for, but the one you're getting because i'm self indulgent.


End file.
